A terrorism expert has warned that Al-Qaeda may be on a drive to recruit women as suicide bombers. Dr. Yusuf Al-Rumaih, a researcher in terrorism affairs and professor of criminology at Al-Qassim University, also warned that the organization may be trying to get women to raise funds for the organization. Al-Rumaih's comments come in the wake of the arrest of Haila Al-Qusayyer, the so-called “First Lady of Al-Qaeda”. Saudi Gazette reported earlier this month that security sources confirmed that Al-Qusayyer, who was detained in Buraidah in March, was a “financier of the Al-Qaeda Organization in the Arabian Peninsula” and that her husband Muhammad Solaiman Al-Wakeel, who was killed in clashes with security forces several years ago, was a member of the organization in the Kingdom. The sources said that Al-Qusayyer had, over the last two years, managed to collect donations for the organization in Yemen by obtaining jewelry as well as money supposedly for the building of mosques and orphanages in Yemen. They also said that Al-Qusayyer played a significant role in helping Wafa' Al-Shehri, the wife of “second man” Saeed Al-Shehri, enter Yemeni territory to recruit “young girls” from the families of wanted persons and helping their wives and sisters join up with them. Al-Rumaih stressed the importance of educating and enlightening women about the dangers of the criminal organization. He said such measures will prevent women from being influenced by deviant views. Exploiting women Al-Rumaih said the fact that Al-Qaeda is recruiting women to raise funds is conclusive evidence that it is a dying organization. “The Al-Qaeda organization is based on men so its effort to lure women to carry out its operations shows that the organization has run out of steam. It also indicates that the security forces have succeeded in penetrating deep into the organization.” Recruiting women also indicates that the masterminds of the organization are very aware of the psychological effect women have on their families. “I need not mention that women are the most influential creatures on earth and can change the convictions of their husbands and children. This explains one of the main reasons for Al-Qaeda resorting to women,” Al-Rumaih said. By doing so they are trying to exploit society's respect for women. “For example, disguising in women's clothing reflects their understanding of the mentality of society. So that when they pass through a checkpoint they are not checked. This does not represent any laxity on the part of security officials but stems from the respect society have for women,” Al-Rumaih said. Al-Rumaih argued that Al-Qaeda's move to recruit women shows they are aware of the ability of women to gain sympathy and attract innocent people to the organization. It also reflects their calculations that women will not draw the attention of the security authorities and raise doubts and suspicions, said Al-Rumaih. He said the Al-Qaeda has already exploited women on three separate occasions. The first was the Al-Hada incident five years ago; in Riyadh where terrorists disguised in women's abayas were all arrested by the security forces; and the latest incident involving the recruitment of Al-Qusayyer. Al-Rumaih called for the formation of a specialist security team at the Ministry of Interior to check up on Internet websites which call for fundamentalism and violence. He added that there should be continued support for families in monitoring the activities of its members. This will protect the youth from being exploited and recruited by the advocates of deviant views. Poor awareness Al-Rumaih argued that there is currently poor awareness of the danger posed by terrorists who are intent on using women for their criminal acts. In his research he found that awareness campaigns directed at women were insignificant compared to those targeting men. “This has encouraged the advocates of deviant thought to focus on women. We have to take into consideration that these deviant groups have planners who try to make optimum use of any loopholes or shortcomings in the plans and efforts of the security authorities,” he said. “Regrettably, the female terrorists are working in very organized groups, which serve specific goals and strategies and have (developed) a long term policy for recruitment,” Al-Rumaih said. Study on women terrorists Al-Rumaih said he is in the process of finishing a study in which he proves that women terrorists are more dangerous than men, in the sense that the men's role is confined to “executive” functions while the women's role extends to include collecting of funds, recruiting and providing a haven for terrorists. Al-Rumaih said he did not exclude the possibility that Al-Qaeda plans to use women for suicide bombings and to create cells for female suicide bombers. He said that by doing so women will be converted into “executive” terrorists. He said the security authorities should now focus equal attention on both women and men terrorists. The security authorities should also give greater emphasis to monitoring and checking on suspected women. He said that for the time being women only account for five percent of terrorists, but expects this number to increase significantly because of the attention of the security authorities on men. “This, of course, gives women terrorists more space and freedom of movement than their male counterparts,” Al-Rumaih said. He called on the security authorities to keep women's gatherings, such as the Holy Qur'an memorization centers, under strict surveillance. This will allow the security forces to combat these elements as it did with male terrorists. Heroin use Al-Rumaih did not exclude the possibility that foreign “groups or states” are providing logistic and financial support to the deviant groups. “There is no doubt that drugs and terrorism are two faces of the same coin. The terrorists exploit the revenues from drug smuggling and peddling to finance their terrorist operations,” he said. He supported this argument with studies revealing that high levels of heroin was found in the blood and scattered remains of 96 percent of terrorist bombers. This includes terrorists found in Iraq and Jordan and a recent female suicide bomber. Being a member of the Advice Committee, he said: “I can confirm that there is not a single person in our prisons who is being kept behind bars unjustly. There is no violence in our prisons or injustice to any suspect or prison inmate.” Al-Rumaih said it is high time for guardians and parents to report the suspicious behavior of their children to the security authorities. They should also report any suspect who may try to brainwash or instigate their children to become terrorists and to send them to troubled areas.
